System and method of fulfilling a transaction

ABSTRACT

A method is disclosed that includes receiving a request for a transaction from a customer at a seller server system via an electronic-commerce website and identifying a customer account stored at the seller server system based on an identity of the customer. A plurality of financial instruments is associated with the customer account. The plurality of financial instruments has a customer-specific sequence including at least a first financial instrument pre-selected by the customer and a second financial instrument. The method includes automatically attempting to collect a particular payment associated with the transaction from a first financial service provider corresponding to the first financial instrument and automatically attempting to collect the particular payment from a second financial service provider corresponding to the second financial instrument in response to data received at the seller server system indicating a denial of the payment.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to fulfilling electroniccommerce-based transactions.

BACKGROUND

Electronic commerce provides consumers with a convenient way to purchasegoods and services. In some cases, a customer can choose to have anonline retailer maintain data related to a credit card to avoidre-entering the data each time the customer makes a purchase using theretailer's website. The retailer's ability to collect payment using thestored data may be prevented if the customer cancels the credit card,for example, but does not update the payment information stored by theretailer. Nonetheless, it may be difficult or inconvenient for thecustomer to update such payment information or to recall that suchpayment information needs to be updated with the retailer. Moreover, theretailer may risk losing a sale if it requires the customer toseparately enter data regarding another payment method before fulfillinga particular transaction. Hence, there is a need for an improved systemand method of fulfilling a transaction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of a system tofulfill a transaction;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a particular embodiment of a method offulfilling a transaction;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a second particular embodiment of a methodof fulfilling a transaction;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a third particular embodiment of a method offulfilling a transaction;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a fourth particular embodiment of a methodof fulfilling a transaction;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a graphical userinterface to create an electronic wallet;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a graphical userinterface to present a notification regarding an electronic wallet; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a graphical userinterface to modify data associated with an electronic wallet.

SUMMARY

A system to fulfill a transaction is disclosed and comprises a serversystem that includes logic to provide access to an electronic-commercewebsite via a wide area network and to receive a request for a firsttransaction from a customer via the electronic-commerce website. Theserver system also includes logic to access an electronic wallet basedon an identity of the customer from a memory of the server system thatis accessible to the logic. The electronic wallet includes data relatedto a plurality of financial instruments associated with the customer.The plurality of financial instruments has a customer-specific sequenceincluding at least a first financial instrument pre-selected by thecustomer and a second financial instrument pre-selected by the customer.The server system also includes logic to send a first request for apayment associated with the first transaction to a first financialservice provider corresponding to the first financial instrument via afinancial network interface of the server system. The server system alsoincludes logic to automatically send a second request for the payment toa second financial service provider corresponding to the secondfinancial instrument via the financial network interface, in response todata indicating a denial of the payment.

In another particular embodiment, a system to fulfill a transaction isdisclosed that comprises a server system including logic and memoryaccessible to the logic. The memory includes a data store to store datarelated to a first financial instrument, where the data is provided by acustomer in conjunction with a first transaction. The memory alsoincludes instructions executable by the logic to receive and store datarelated to a second financial instrument of the customer in conjunctionwith a second transaction. Further, the memory includes instructionsexecutable by the logic to determine whether to collect a particularpayment associated with the first transaction from a second financialservice provider corresponding to the second financial instrument.

In another particular embodiment, a method of fulfilling a transactionis disclosed that includes receiving a request for a transaction from acustomer at a seller server system via an electronic-commerce website.The method also includes identifying a customer account stored at theseller server system based on an identity of the customer. A pluralityof financial instruments is associated with the customer account. Theplurality of financial instruments has a customer-specific sequenceincluding at least a first financial instrument pre-selected by thecustomer and a second financial instrument pre-selected by the customer.The customer-specific sequence comprises an order in which payments areto be requested from financial service providers corresponding to atleast some of the plurality of financial instruments. The methodincludes automatically attempting to collect a particular paymentassociated with the transaction from a first financial service providercorresponding to the first financial instrument and automaticallyattempting to collect the particular payment from a second financialservice provider corresponding to the second financial instrument inresponse to data received at the seller server system indicating adenial of the particular payment by the first financial provider.

In another particular embodiment, a method of fulfilling a transactionis disclosed that includes attempting, at a first time, to collect apayment associated with a first transaction using data related to afirst financial instrument associated with a customer account. Thetransaction corresponds to a first offering of an electronic-commercewebsite. The method also includes automatically attempting, at a secondtime, to collect payment for the first transaction using data related toa second financial instrument associated with the customer. The datarelated to the second financial instrument is retrieved from memory andwas originally received from the customer in connection with a secondtransaction related to a second offering of the electronic-commercewebsite.

In another particular embodiment, a method of fulfilling a transactionis disclosed that includes providing a first graphical user interface(GUI) to create an electronic wallet via a seller website. The firstgraphical user interface (GUI) includes a sequence of virtual slots.Each of the virtual slots is configured to receive data related to oneof a plurality of financial instruments designated by a customer.Payment for a particular transaction is to be requested by the sellerfrom a financial service provider associated with each of the pluralityof financial instruments according to the sequence of the virtual slots.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1, a particular embodiment of a system to fulfill atransaction is illustrated and designated generally 100. The system 100includes a computer server system 102. The server system 102 includeslogic, such as a processor 104, and a memory 106 that is accessible tothe logic. In one embodiment, the server system 102 includes a singlecomputer server, such as a web server. Alternatively, the server system102 includes multiple servers that independently or redundantly includelogic and memory adapted to provide one or more functions with respectto fulfilling electronic commerce-based transactions.

The server system 102 also includes a first network interface 120 tocommunicate with end-user computing devices, such as the illustratedcustomer computer 122, via a wide area network 124, such as theInternet. Further, the server system 102 includes a second networkinterface 130 to communicate with one or more financial serviceproviders 132 via one or more financial networks 134. For example, theserver system 102 can communicate with banks, credit card providers,debit card providers, money transfer service providers, other financialservice providers, or any combination thereof, via the financialnetwork(s) 134. In one embodiment, the financial network(s) 134 includesa credit card network, an automated clearinghouse (ACH) network, aclearinghouse interbank payment system (CHIPS) network, an electronicbill presentment and payment (EBPP) network, an electronic fundstransfer (EFT) network, another financial network, or any combinationthereof.

The memory 106 includes a plurality of modules 108-114, each of whichcan facilitate one or more functions of the server system 102 withrespect to fulfilling electronic commerce-based transactions. In aparticular embodiment, the modules 108-114 include processor-executableinstructions. For instance, the modules 108-114 may include instructionsthat together comprise one or more software applications or othercomputer programs. In an alternative embodiment, one or more of themodules 108-114 include hardware logic adapted to perform one or morefunctions of the server system 102.

In a particular embodiment, the memory 106 includes a website module 108that is executable by the processor 104 to provide customer access to anelectronic commerce website of a seller, such as a wholesaler orretailer, via the wide area network 124. For example, a customer usingthe customer computer 122 accesses the seller website via the wide areanetwork 124 using a web browser. In one embodiment, the seller websitedisplays offers of products, services, subscriptions, auctions, or anycombination thereof. An example of a seller website is Amazon.com.

The website module 108 is executable by the processor 104 to receive arequest for a transaction from the customer computer 122 via the sellerwebsite. The transaction includes the purchase of one or more productsoffered via the seller website, the purchase of one or more servicesoffered via the seller website, the purchase of one or moresubscriptions via the seller website, one or more bids related toauction items offered via the seller website, or any combinationthereof.

In response to the transaction request, the processor 104 determines anidentity of the customer and accesses customer account storage 109 toidentify a customer account based on the identity of the customer. In aparticular embodiment, the identity of the customer is determined byrequesting identity information that was originally received from thecustomer during creation of the customer account. For instance, thewebsite module 108 is executable by the processor 104 to require receiptof a customer user name, a customer password or other authenticationtoken, an answer to a security question, a zip code, at least part of asocial security number, other identification information, or anycombination thereof, before a requested transaction may proceed. Theprocessor 104 identifies a customer account associated with theinformation at the customer account storage 109. In another example, thewebsite module 108 is executable by the processor 104 to determine anInternet Protocol (IP) address associated with the customer computer122, and the processor 104 identifies a customer account associated withthe IP address at the customer account storage 109.

In a particular embodiment, the memory 106 includes a payment collectionmodule 110 that is executable by the processor 104 to electronicallycollect one or more payments related to the requested transaction. Forproduct purchases, the payment collection module 110 is executable bythe processor 104 to collect a one-time payment or to track and collectmultiple installment payments over time. With respect to subscriptions,the payment collection module 110 is executable by the processor 104 tocollect a one-time payment or to track and collect periodic subscriptionpayments over time. Further, the payment collection module 110 isexecutable by the processor 104 to track and collect auto-renewalpayments or other recurring payments for a membership service, apreferred customer service, a shipping discount service, or otherservices.

The payment collection module 110 is executable by the processor 104 tocollect a payment associated with a requested transaction by identifyinga financial instrument associated with the customer account and bysending a request for the payment to a financial service providercorresponding to the financial instrument via the financial network(s)134. A financial instrument includes, for example, a gift card, a giftcertificate, a credit card, a bank account, a debit card, an onlinefinancial account, or a payphrase. In a particular embodiment, if noother financial instruments are associated with the customer account,the server system tries to collect payment from the first financialprovider again at a pre-defined time interval up to a maximum number oftries. For example, the server system can retry such payment collectiononce per day, up to three times.

In another particular embodiment, a plurality of financial instrumentsis associated with the customer account identified by the server system102. The payment collection module 110 is executable by the processor104 to send a request for the payment to a first financial serviceprovider corresponding to a first one of the plurality of financialinstruments, such as a financial instrument designated by the customerat the time of the first transaction, a preferred financial instrumentpre-selected by the customer, or a financial instrument pre-selected bythe customer as first in a customer-specific sequence of financialinstruments. The payment collection module 110 is executable by theprocessor 104 to receive the payment from the first financial serviceprovider and to transfer monies associated with the payment to one ormore accounts.

In addition, the payment collection module 110 is executable by theprocessor 104 to send a second request for the payment to a secondfinancial service provider corresponding to a second one of theplurality of financial instruments associated with the customer accountin response to data indicating a denial of the payment by the firstfinancial service provider. The second financial instrument includes adefault financial instrument pre-selected by the customer account, abackup financial instrument pre-selected by the customer, a financialinstrument used to collect payment for a different transactionassociated with the customer (e.g., a prior transaction at the sellerwebsite), or a financial instrument pre-selected by the customer assecond in a customer-specific sequence of financial instruments. Thepayment collection module 110 is executable by the processor 104 torequest the payment from financial service providers corresponding to atleast one more of the plurality of financial instruments, such as athird financial service provider corresponding to a third financialinstrument, until payment is received or until the plurality offinancial instruments, or a pre-determined number thereof, areexhausted.

In one embodiment, the second financial instrument is a financialinstrument used by the customer to submit payment for a subsequentsecond transaction via the seller e-commerce website. For example, thewebsite module 108, the payment collection module 110, or anycombination thereof, is executable by the processor 104 to receiveinformation related to a first financial instrument, such as a creditcard, that the customer would like to use to pay for a first transactioncorresponding to a first offering of the e-commerce website, such as apreferred customer service. In a particular embodiment, multiplepayments, such as auto-renewal payments, are associated with the firsttransaction. The customer may subsequently use a second financialinstrument, such as an online financial account, for a transaction thatcorresponds to a second offering of the e-commerce website, such as thepurchase of a product via the seller website, before the expiration ofthe preferred customer service, and data related to the online financialaccount is stored at the memory 106 (e.g., at the customer accountstorage 109).

In a particular embodiment, the server system 102 attempts, at a firsttime, to collect a particular payment associated with the firsttransaction, such as an annual auto-renewal payment that comes due afterthe second transaction has been completed. For instance, the paymentcollection module 110 is executable by the processor 104 to send arequest for the particular payment to a financial service providerassociated with the credit card, or to a payment clearinghouse or otherpayment service communicating with the first financial service provider.The server system 102 receives the particular payment, or the serversystem 102 receives data indicating that the particular payment isdenied by the first financial service provider associated with thecredit card (e.g., due to expiration, reported theft or misplacement,cancellation by the customer, exceeding a spending limit, or a customerrestriction of online transactions). If the server system 102 receivesdata indicating that the payment has been denied, the payment collectionmodule 110 is executable by the processor 104 to retrieve from thememory 106 the data associated with the online financial account thatwas originally received in connection with the second transaction. Thepayment collection module 110 is executable by the processor 104 toautomatically request, at a second time, the payment from a secondfinancial service provider associated with the online financial account.

In another embodiment, the second financial instrument is a financialinstrument used by the customer to submit payment for a prior secondtransaction via the seller website. For example, the website module 108,the payment collection module 110, or any combination thereof, isexecutable by the processor 104 to receive information related to afirst financial instrument, such as a gift card, that the customer wouldlike to use to pay for a first transaction, such as the purchase of anauction item. The customer may have previously provided data related toa second financial instrument, such as a checking account, to makepayments for a subscription service, and data related to the secondfinancial instrument is stored at the memory 106, e.g., at the customeraccount storage 109.

If a payment associated with the auction item is denied by a firstfinancial service provider associated with the gift card, the paymentcollection module 110 is executable by the processor 104 to access thedata associated with the checking account at the memory 106. The serversystem 102 requests the payment associated with the auction item from asecond financial service provider corresponding to the checking account.In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, the payment collectionmodule 110 is executable by the processor 104 to determine whetherattempts by the server system 102 to collect payments using the checkingaccount within a pre-defined time period have been successful, beforesending a request for payment related to the auction item to the secondfinancial service provider.

In another illustrative embodiment, the second financial instrument canbe one of a plurality of financial instruments that comprise anelectronic wallet (e-Wallet) configured by the customer and stored atthe customer account storage 109, the e-Wallet module 111, or anycombination thereof. The e-Wallet includes data items related to theplurality of financial instruments. Further, the e-Wallet indicates acustomer-specific sequence in which payment for a requested transactionis to be requested from financial service providers corresponding to theplurality of financial instruments. In a particular embodiment, dataassociated with the e-Wallet includes notification preferences, otherpreferences, or any combination thereof, pre-designated by the customerwith respect to use of the e-Wallet to collect payments associated withtransactions requested via the seller website.

The customer-specific sequence associated with the plurality offinancial instruments in the e-Wallet includes at least a firstfinancial instrument pre-selected by the customer and a second financialinstrument pre-selected by the customer. In one embodiment, thecustomer-specific sequence can be designated by the customer. In analternative embodiment, the e-Wallet module 111 or other aspect of theserver system 102 is executable by the processor 104 to determine thecustomer-specific sequence based on customer data. For example, theserver system 102 could identify financial instruments in the e-Walletthat are recently used, frequently used, or any combination thereof, andplace them higher in the customer-specific sequence (i.e., closer to afirst priority). In addition, the server system 102 could identifyfinancial instruments in the e-Wallet that have been declined inprevious transactions and place such financial instruments lower in thecustomer-specific sequence (i.e., closer to a last priority).

All of the plurality of financial instruments associated with thee-Wallet can be included in the sequence, or less than all of theplurality of financial instruments can be included in the sequence. Forexample, four financial instruments associated with a customer e-Walletcan be pre-selected by the customer as first, second, third, or fourth.Alternatively, a first financial instrument can be pre-selected aspreferred, a second financial instrument as backup, and a thirdfinancial instrument as default, while a fourth financial instrument canhave no designation.

In one example, a customer requests a magazine subscription havingmultiple monthly payments via the seller website. The server system 102identifies the customer and accesses an electronic wallet associatedwith the customer's account. The server system 102 sends a request foreach monthly payment to a first financial service provider associatedwith a first financial instrument, such as a credit card, that has beenpre-selected by the customer as part of a customer-specific sequence offinancial instruments associated with the electronic wallet. If theserver system 102 determines that a failure event has occurred withrespect to the first financial instrument, such as determining that afinancial network is inoperable, receiving data indicating a denial ofone of the monthly payments (e.g., because the credit card has beenreported lost, has been reported stolen, has been canceled, has expired,has reached a spending limit, has been restricted as to onlinetransactions), or another failure event, the server system 102 accessesthe electronic wallet to identify a second financial instrumentpre-selected by the customer as part of the customer-specific sequenceof financial instruments. The server system 102 sends a request for thepayment to the second financial provider.

In a particular embodiment, if a failure event is determined withrespect to the second financial instrument, such as the payment beingdenied by the second financial provider, the server system 102 sends arequest for the payment to a financial service provider corresponding toa third financial instrument. The server system 102 attempts to collectthe payment from a financial service provider associated with each ofthe plurality of financial instruments associated with the electronicwallet, according to the customer-specific sequence, until payment isreceived or until all or a pre-defined number of the plurality offinancial instruments have been exhausted.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, a customer specifies a maximumper purchase amount, a maximum total purchases amount, or anycombination thereof, for each financial instrument in the e-Wallet. Forexample, the customer can designate that no purchase over fifty dollars($50.00) is to be made using the first financial instrument; that nopurchase over one hundred dollars ($100.00) is to be made using thesecond financial instrument; and that no purchase over two hundreddollars ($200.00) is to be made using the third financial instrument. Inthis example, the payment collection module 110 is executable by theprocessor 104 to determine whether a purchase exceeds a customer-definedlimit and to attempt to roll an excess amount to the second financialinstrument using the customer-specific sequence of financialinstruments. Thus, if the customer attempts to purchase an item costingone hundred twenty dollars ($120.00), the payment collection module 110is executable by the processor 104 to collect $50.00 of the payment viathe first financial instrument and $70.00 via the second financialinstrument. If payment is denied by the first financial serviceprovider, however, the payment collection module 110 is executable bythe processor 104 to collect $100.00 from the second financial serviceprovider and $20.00 from the third financial service provider.

In an illustrative embodiment, the payment collection module 110 isexecutable by the processor 104 to check an activation status associatedwith the customer account before sending a request for a payment relatedto the first transaction to the second financial service provider. Forexample, the customer can toggle an activation/de-activation status ofan e-Wallet or other feature offered by the seller to automaticallyattempt to collect a payment from one or more other financial serviceproviders in response to a denial of payment from a first financialservice provider.

In a particular embodiment, the memory 106 includes a notificationmodule 112 that is executable by the processor 104 to send anotification to the customer regarding the collection of payment for thefirst transaction from a financial service provider other than the firstfinancial service provider. An example of such a notification isillustrated in FIG. 7. In one embodiment, the notification module 112 isexecutable by the processor 104 to send or not send such a notificationbased on customer preferences associated with the customer account. Forinstance, the customer preferences indicate whether the customer is tobe notified when a payment cannot be collected via one of a plurality offinancial instruments associated with the customer account; whether thecustomer is to be notified when a financial instrument other than afirst financial instrument pre-selected by the customer is used tocollect a payment related to the transaction; whether the customer is tobe notified before attempting to collect a payment related to atransaction using a financial instrument other than the first financialservice instrument; whether the customer is to be notified afterautomatically collecting, or attempting to collect, a payment related toa transaction using a financial instrument other than the firstfinancial service instrument; whether notifications should allow thecustomer to change data related to financial instruments associated withthe customer account; whether the customer is to be notified afteranother event affecting or resulting from the seller's use of thecustomer's financial instruments; or any combination thereof.

In a particular embodiment, the memory 106 includes a GUI module 113that is executable by the processor 104 to provide a first graphicaluser interface (GUI) via the seller website in response to a customerrequest to create an electronic wallet. An example of such a GUI isillustrated in FIG. 6. The GUI module 113 is executable by the processor104 to receive data related to a plurality of financial instruments fromthe customer computer 122 via the first GUI, such as a gift card number,a gift certificate identifier, a credit card number, a credit cardexpiration date, a credit card confirmation number, a bank accountnumber, a bank routing number, a debit card number, an online financialaccount identifier (e.g., PayPal® or BitPass®), payphrase information,other data related to a financial instrument, or any combinationthereof.

In addition, the GUI module 113 is executable by the processor 104 toreceive sequence data indicating a sequence related to the plurality offinancial instruments. The sequence data indicates an order in whichcollection of a payment related to a transaction requested by thecustomer or other user via the seller website is to be requested fromfinancial service providers associated with the plurality of financialinstruments. In a particular embodiment, the sequence data indicates asequence that includes all financial instruments in the customer'selectronic wallet. Alternatively, the sequence data indicates apreferred financial instrument, a backup financial instrument, a defaultfinancial instrument, other designations of individual financialinstruments, or any combination thereof.

Further, the GUI module 113 is executable by the processor 104 toreceive data indicating activation or de-activation of the e-Wallet withrespect to collecting payment for transactions. Moreover, the GUI module113 is executable by the processor 104 to receive notificationpreference data and other preference data related to the use of thee-Wallet to collect payment for transactions requested by the customervia the seller website. The data related to the plurality of financialinstruments, sequence data, activation/de-activation data, preferencedata, or any combination thereof, can be stored as an electronic walletassociated with a customer account at the customer account storage 109,the e-Wallet storage 111, or any combination thereof.

In a particular embodiment, the GUI module 113 is executable by theprocessor 104 to provide a second GUI via the seller website in responseto a customer request to modify e-Wallet data. An example of a GUI tomodify e-Wallet data is illustrated in FIG. 8. Modifications to thee-Wallet data can be stored at the customer account storage 109, thee-Wallet storage 111, alternate storage, or any combination thereof.

In a particular embodiment, the memory 106 includes a fraud detectionmodule 114 that is executable by the processor 104 to verify whethereach of a plurality of financial instruments associated with a customeraccount are valid to collect payment for a transaction. The frauddetection module 114 is executable by the processor 104 to verify, forexample, whether each of the plurality of financial instruments isregistered in a name associated with the customer account. Further, thefraud detection module 114 is executable by the processor 104 to verifythat at least part of an address associated with the customer accountmatches with at least part of an address stored by a financial serviceprovider corresponding to each of the plurality of financialinstruments. Moreover, the fraud detection module 114 is executable bythe processor 104 to verify whether a customer has instructed afinancial service provider corresponding to any of the plurality offinancial instruments to block online transactions using the financialinstrument. The fraud detection module 114 is executable by theprocessor 104 to conduct fraud detection processes with respect to theplurality of financial instruments after a payment is denied by a firstfinancial service provider; during e-Wallet creation or modification;before activation of a feature related to collecting payments associatedwith transactions; before accepting the use of a financial instrumentfor a particular transaction; or any combination thereof.

Referring to FIG. 2, a particular embodiment of a method of fulfilling atransaction is illustrated. At block 202, a transaction request isreceived from a customer at a server system of a seller via anelectronic commerce website. Moving to block 204, the server systemidentifies a customer account based on an identity of the customer. Inone embodiment, the customer identity is determined based onidentification information requested and received from the customer orbased on information related to a computing device or Internetconnection from which the transaction request is received.

Proceeding to block 206, the server system attempts to collect aparticular payment associated with the requested transaction using datarelated to a first financial instrument associated with the identifiedcustomer account. The first financial instrument can be pre-selected bythe customer. In one embodiment, the server system sends a request forthe payment to a first financial service provider corresponding to thefirst financial instrument via a financial network. The payment can besubstantially contemporaneous with, or subsequent to, the transactionrequest. For instance, the payment can be a single payment, an initialpayment, one of multiple installments or subscription payments, arenewal payment, an auto-renewal payment, another type of payment, orany combination thereof.

Continuing to decision node 208, the server system determines whetherthe payment has been denied by the first financial service provider. Forexample, a system of the financial service provider sends dataindicating denial of the payment in response to a request for paymentsent by the server system. If the server system determines that thepayment has not been denied, the method moves to block 209, and paymentis received by the server system. In a particular embodiment, the serversystem distributes monies associated with the payment among one or moreaccounts, such as an account of the seller associated with thee-commerce website, an account of a third party offering a good,service, subscription, or auction item via the e-commerce website,another account, or any combination thereof.

Returning to decision node 208, if the server system determines that thefirst financial provider has denied the payment, or if the payment isdenied due to another limitation, such as a customer-imposed maximum perpurchase amount or maximum total purchases amount, the method proceedsto decision node 210, and the server system determines whether morefinancial instruments are associated with the customer account. Forexample, the server system stores data related to one or more financialinstruments that have been used by the customer to pay for one or moreother transactions via the seller website. In another example, anelectronic wallet is associated with the customer account and includesdata related to a plurality of financial instruments having acustomer-specific sequence that includes at least a first financialinstrument pre-selected by the customer and a second financialinstrument pre-selected by the customer. If no other financialinstruments are associated with the customer account, the methodterminates at 214. In an alternative embodiment, if no other financialinstruments are associated with the customer account, the server systemtries to collect payment from the first financial provider again at apre-defined time interval up to a maximum number of tries. For example,the server system can retry such payment collection once per day, up tothree times.

Conversely, if at least one other financial instrument is associatedwith the customer account, the method continues to block 212, and theserver system automatically attempts to collect the particular paymentassociated with the transaction using data related to another financialinstrument associated with the customer account, such as the secondfinancial instrument. The method returns to block 208, and the serversystem determines whether payment is received. In a particularembodiment, the server system attempts to collect the payment using datarelated to other financial instruments associated with the customeraccount until payment is received or until all of the plurality offinancial instruments, or a pre-determined number of the plurality offinancial instruments, have been exhausted. The method terminates at214.

Referring to FIG. 3, a second particular embodiment of a method offulfilling a transaction is illustrated. At block 302, a transactionrequest is received from a customer at a server system via an electroniccommerce website. Moving to block 304, in an illustrative embodiment,the server system identifies a customer account based on loginidentification information and an authentication token received from thecustomer. Proceeding to block 306, the server system attempts to collecta payment associated with the requested transaction using data relatedto a preferred financial instrument pre-selected by the customer as partof an electronic wallet associated with the identified customer account.In an illustrative embodiment, the server system sends a request for thepayment to a first financial service provider corresponding to thepreferred financial instrument via a financial network.

Continuing to decision node 308, the server system determines whetherthe payment has been denied by the first financial service provider. Ifthe server system determines that the payment has not been denied, themethod moves to block 309, and payment is received by the server system.On the other hand, if the server system determines that data indicatinga denial of the payment has been received from the first financialprovider, the method proceeds to block 310. At block 310, the serversystem automatically attempts to collect the payment associated with thetransaction using data related to a second financial instrumentassociated with the electronic wallet, such as a backup financialinstrument, a default financial instrument, or a financial instrumentpre-selected by the customer as second in a customer-specific sequenceof financial instruments associated with the electronic wallet.

Advancing to block 312, in a particular embodiment, the payment isreceived from the second financial service provider. Moving to block314, in an illustrative embodiment, the server system informs thecustomer that the second financial instrument has been used to collectthe payment associated with the transaction. For example, the serversystem sends an e-mail message to an e-mail address associated with thecustomer account. Proceeding to decision node 316, in a non-limitingembodiment, the server system determines whether it has received acommand to designate the second financial instrument as the preferredfinancial instrument for future payments. For instance, an e-mail sentby the server system to the customer e-mail address includes aselectable indicator, such as a one-click indicator, of an option tomodify the electronic wallet to select the second financial instrumentas the preferred financial instrument. If the server system determinesthat it has received such a command, the method proceeds to block 318,and the server system can change the electronic wallet data to designatethe second financial instrument as the preferred financial instrument.The method terminates at 320.

Referring to FIG. 4, a third particular embodiment of a method offulfilling a transaction is illustrated. At block 402, a customerrequest for a first transaction is received at a server system of aseller via an electronic commerce website. In a particular embodiment,the first transaction corresponds to a first offering of the electroniccommerce website, such as a membership service. In one embodiment,multiple payments, such as multiple installment payments, subscriptionpayments, renewal payments, or other payments, are associated with thefirst transaction. Moving to block 404, the server system receives andstores data from the customer related to a first financial instrument tobe used for the multiple payments associated with the first transaction.

Proceeding to block 406, the server system receives a customer requestfor a second transaction via the e-commerce website. In a particularembodiment, the second transaction corresponds to a second offering ofthe electronic commerce website, such as a product. The customer requestfor the second transaction can be made during a session in which therequest for the first transaction was made or during a subsequentsession. Continuing to block 408, the server system receives and storesdata from the customer related to a second financial instrument to beused for one or more payments associated with the second transaction.

Moving to block 410, at a first time, the server system attempts tocollect a particular payment of the multiple payments, such as a renewalpayment, associated with the first transaction using data related to thefirst financial instrument. In an illustrative embodiment, the serversystem sends a request for the particular payment to a first financialservice provider corresponding to the first financial instrument via afinancial network. Moving to decision node 412, the server systemdetermines whether the particular payment has been denied by the firstfinancial service provider. If the server system determines that theparticular payment has not been denied, the method moves to block 413,and the particular payment is received by the server system.

On the other hand, if the server system determines that it has receiveddata indicating a denial of the particular payment, the method proceedsto block 414. At block 414, in a particular embodiment, the serversystem accesses customer preferences regarding whether the customer isto be notified regarding the use of the second financial instrument tocollect the particular payment related to the first transaction. Movingto decision node 416, the server system determines whether to send amessage to the customer based on the customer preferences. If the serversystem determines that a message is not to be sent to the customer, themethod proceeds to block 422, and the server system automaticallyattempts, at a second time, to collect the particular payment using datarelated to the second financial instrument. For instance, the serversystem retrieves the data related to the second financial instrument,which was originally received in connection with the second transaction,from a memory at the server system and sends a request for theparticular payment to a second financial service provider correspondingto the second financial instrument.

Returning to decision node 416, if the server system determines that amessage is to be sent to the customer, the method advances to block 418,and the server system sends an e-mail or other message to the customerprompting for approval to collect the payment using data related to thesecond financial instrument. Proceeding to decision node 420, the serversystem determines whether it has received an approval in response to thee-mail or other message. If the server system determines that it hasreceived such an approval, the method proceeds to block 422, and theserver system attempts to collect the payment for the first transactionusing data related to the second financial instrument. The methodterminates at 424.

Referring to FIG. 5, a fourth particular embodiment of a method offulfilling a transaction is illustrated. At block 502, a customerrequest to create an electronic wallet is received at a server systemvia an electronic commerce website. Moving to block 504, the serversystem provides a first graphical user interface (GUI) via thee-commerce website. The first GUI is adapted to receive data from acustomer to create an electronic wallet. In an illustrative embodiment,the server system prompts the customer for authentication informationbefore providing the first GUI. Proceeding to block 506, the serversystem receives data via the first GUI related to a plurality offinancial instruments to be used to collect payments for transactionsrequested via the e-commerce website. In a particular embodiment, thedata also indicates a customer-specific sequence in which data relatedto each of the plurality of financial instruments is to be used toattempt collection of such payments. In another particular embodiment,the data indicates designations of particular financial instruments aspreferred, default, backup, or other designations.

Continuing to block 508, in an illustrative embodiment, the serversystem performs one or more fraud detection processes to verify that thecustomer may use each of the plurality of financial instruments to payfor transactions via the website. The server system verifies, forexample, whether each of the plurality of financial instruments isregistered in a name associated with the customer account; whether atleast part of an address associated with the customer account matcheswith at least part of an address stored by a financial service providercorresponding to each of the plurality of financial instruments; whethera customer has instructed a financial service provider corresponding toany of the plurality of financial instruments to block onlinetransactions using the financial instrument; whether other informationindicates potential fraud or misuse of any of the plurality of financialinstruments; or any combination thereof.

At block 510, the server system stores verified financial instrumentdata as part of an electronic wallet associated with the customer'saccount with the website. In an illustrative embodiment, the serversystem may inform the customer of financial instrument data that couldnot be verified and allows the customer to alter the non-verified data.Moving to block 512, the server system receives and store notificationpreferences and other preferences with respect to the electronic wallet.Proceeding to decision node 514, the server system determines whether ithas received a command to activate the electronic wallet with respect totransactions associated with the customer account. For instance, thefirst GUI includes a selectable indicator of an option to activate theelectronic wallet feature. If the server system determines that it hasnot received a command to activate the electronic wallet, the methodproceeds to decision node 518. Conversely, if the server systemdetermines that it has received an activation command, the methodcontinues to block 516, and the electronic wallet created by thecustomer can be activated. The method then proceeds to decision node518.

At decision node 518, the server system determines whether it hasreceived a request from a customer to modify an electronic wallet. Therequest to modify the electronic wallet is received during a samesession in which the electronic wallet was created or in a subsequentsession. If the server system determines that it has not received such arequest, the method terminates at 526. On the other hand, if the serversystem determines that it has received a request to modify an electronicwallet, the method advances to decision node 520, and the server systemdetermines whether the modification request is a one-click changecommand received in response to an e-mail or other message sent to thecustomer. If the server system determines that the modification requestis a one-click command, the method proceeds to block 524, and the serversystem stores changes to the electronic wallet data based on the changeassociated with the one-click command, such as making a second financialinstrument a preferred financial instrument. Returning to decision node520, if the server system determines that the modification request isnot a one-click command, such as a selection of an electronic walletmodification indicator displayed at the e-commerce website, the methodproceeds to block 522, and the server system provides a second GUIadapted to receive changes to electronic wallet data via the website.The method then moves to block 524, and the server system stores changesto the electronic wallet data that are received from the customer viathe second GUI. The method terminates at 526.

Referring to FIG. 6, a particular embodiment of a graphical userinterface (GUI) to create an electronic wallet is illustrated anddesignated generally 600. The GUI 600 includes data entry regions toreceive data related to a plurality of financial instruments. In anon-limiting embodiment, the data regions are represented as a pluralityof virtual slots 601 of the electronic wallet. The data entry regionsinclude a plurality of drop-down or pull-down menus 602 that includeselectable financial instrument types, such as ‘Gift Card,’ ‘CreditCard,’ ‘Checking Account,’ ‘Savings Account,’ ‘Debit Card,’ ‘PayPhrase,’ other financial instrument types, or any combination thereof.Selection of a financial instrument type causes the GUI 600 to displayvarious fields related to the type of financial instrument selected.

For example, selection of ‘Gift Card” causes a field 604 to be displayedvia the GUI 600, in which a gift card number or other identifier can beentered. In another example, selection of ‘Credit Card’ causes the GUI600 to display a field 605 in which a credit card expiration date isentered and a field 606 in which a confirmation number is entered, inaddition to a field 607 in which the credit card number is entered. In aparticular embodiment, a maximum amount field 621, in which a customercan enter a maximum per purchase amount or maximum total purchase amountcan be displayed. In another example, selection of ‘Checking Account’causes the GUI 600 to display a field 608 in which a bank routing numberis entered and a field 609 in which a checking account number isentered.

In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, the order in which thefinancial instrument data entry fields are displayed (e.g., top tobottom) indicates an order in which data related to the financialinstruments will be used to attempt to collect payment for transactions.In another embodiment, a rank field (not shown) is displayed by the GUI600 near the data related to each financial instrument, and the customerenters or selects a rank or other designation for each financialinstrument, such as first, second, third, or alternatively, preferred,default, backup.

The GUI 600 includes a region 610 to allow the customer to setnotification preferences, such as whether to notify the customer when apreferred payment method fails or whether to let the customer approvethe use of a backup or other financial instrument before payment iscollected using the backup or other financial instrument. In addition,the GUI 600 includes a field 612 in which the customer enters apreferred e-mail address for notifications. Further, the GUI 600includes a region 614 to select other preferences, such as whether theseller system should check for recent successful uses of a backup orother financial instrument before attempting to collect a payment usingdata related to the backup or other financial instrument.

The GUI 600 includes a selectable indicator 616 of an option to storedata entered via the GUI 600. For example, a customer stores the dataentered via the GUI 600 as part of an electronic wallet, withoutactivating the electronic wallet with respect to transactions that thecustomer requests. The GUI 600 can also include a selectable indicator618 of an option to exit the GUI 600. Additionally, the GUI 600 includesa selectable indicator 620 of an option to activate the electronicwallet.

Referring to FIG. 7, a particular embodiment of a notification messageis illustrated and designated generally 700. The notification message700 includes message text 702 indicating that a financial instrumentother than a first financial instrument has been used to collect apayment denied by a first financial provider corresponding to a firstfinancial instrument with respect to a transaction requested by acustomer to whom the notification message 700 is sent. The notificationmessage 700 includes text 704 indicating an option to change thefinancial instrument used to collect the payment to a first or preferredfinancial instrument associated with the customer's account. Thenotification message 700 includes a selectable indicator 706 to makesuch a change to the customer account, such as a virtual button that maybe clicked once using a mouse to make the change. The notificationmessage 700 also includes a selectable indicator 708 of an option toaccess the customer account to view the transaction, view financialinstrument data associated with the customer account, change such data,or any combination thereof.

Referring to FIG. 8, a particular embodiment of a graphical userinterface (GUI) to modify electronic wallet data is illustrated anddesignated generally 800. The GUI 800 includes a list 802 or otherdisplay of financial instrument data associated with the electronicwallet that is to be modified. The list 802 indicates acustomer-specific sequence of the financial instruments associated withthe electronic wallet. The GUI 800 includes selectable indicators 804 ofoptions to edit data related to each of the financial instrumentsdisplayed by the list 802. The GUI 800 also includes a region 806 tochange notification preferences, which may include, for example, a field808 to alter the customer's preferred e-mail address, a selectableindicator to change notification settings, or any combination thereof.The GUI 800 includes a region 812 to alter other preferences.

In addition, the GUI 800 includes a selectable indicator 814 of anoption to save changes entered via the GUI 800. The GUI 800 can alsoinclude a selectable indicator 816 of an option to cancel changes andexit the GUI 800. Additionally, the GUI 800 includes a selectableindicator 818 of an option to de-activate the electronic wallet if itwas previously activated, or to activate the electronic wallet if it waspreviously de-activated.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be reduced. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the disclosed embodiments are notlimited to such standards and protocols. For example, standards forInternet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP,UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Suchstandards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficientequivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly,replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functionsas those disclosed herein are considered equivalents thereof.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may begrouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method of fulfilling a transaction, the method comprising: undercontrol of a configured server computer system associated with anelectronic commerce website, determining a customer-specific sequence ofa plurality of financial instruments of a customer that are associatedwith an account of the customer at the electronic commerce website, thecustomer-specific sequence indicating an order of the financialinstruments that includes at least a first financial instrument and asecond financial instrument, and wherein data related to the secondfinancial instrument was previously received from the customer inconnection with a second transaction related to a second offering of theelectronic commerce website, the second offering including at least oneof a second product and a second service being offered for purchase bycustomers; at a first time, receiving an indication of a firsttransaction involving the customer and a first offering of theelectronic commerce website, the first offering including at least oneof a first product and a first service being offered for purchase bycustomers, the first transaction being authorized by the customer at anearlier time prior to the first time for payment for the firsttransaction, the indication of the first transaction being received bythe configured server computer system at the first time without anyinteractions by the customer at the first time to initiate the paymentfor the first transaction; automatically selecting the first financialinstrument to use in an attempt to collect the payment associated withthe first transaction, the selecting being based on the determinedcustomer-specific sequence and being performed by the configured servercomputer system; and automatically attempting, using the configuredserver computer system, to collect the payment associated with the firsttransaction by using the selected first financial instrument; and at alater second time after the first time, and based at least in part on alack of success of the attempting to collect the payment by using theselected first financial instrument, automatically attempting to collectthe payment for the first transaction by using the second financialinstrument, the second financial instrument being selected to be used atthe second time by the configured server computer system based on thedetermined customer-specific sequence and without any interactions bythe customer at the second time to initiate the use of the secondfinancial instrument for payment of the first transaction.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein the lack of success of the attempting to collect thepayment by using the selected first financial instrument is determinedbased at least in part on a failure event that occurs with respect tothe attempting to collect the payment by using the selected firstfinancial instrument.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the failureevent includes receiving data indicating that the first financialinstrument has expired, has been reported lost, has been reportedstolen, has been canceled, has exceeded a spending limit, has beenrestricted as to online transactions, or any combination thereof.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first transaction is requested by thecustomer after the second transaction has been completed.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first transaction is requested by the customerafter the second transaction has been initiated but before the secondtransaction has been completed.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thepayment for the first transaction is part of a plurality of periodicpayments.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first offering includesthe first service, the first service being a subscription service. 8.The method of claim 6, wherein the first offering includes the firstservice, the first service being one of a membership service, apreferred customer service, and a shipping discount service.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the payment for the first transaction to bemade at the first time is an auto-renewal payment associated withcontinuing to provide the first service to the customer.
 10. The methodof claim 6, wherein the first offering includes the first product, andthe plurality of periodic payments corresponds to an installment paymentplan.
 11. The method of claim 6, wherein the second offering includesthe second product.
 12. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondoffering includes the second service, the second service being asubscription service.
 13. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondoffering includes the second service, the second service being anauction offering.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining ofthe customer-specific sequence includes obtaining an indication from thecustomer of the customer-specific sequence.
 15. The method of claim 1wherein the determining of the customer-specific sequence is performedautomatically by the server computer system.
 16. A server computersystem configured to fulfill a transaction, comprising: one or moreprocessors; and one or more modules configured to, when executed by atleast one of the one or more processors, facilitate transactions with aseller by: determining a customer-specific sequence of a plurality offinancial instruments of a customer that is associated with an accountof the customer with the seller, the customer-specific sequenceindicating an order of the financial instruments that includes at leasta first financial instrument and a second financial instrument, andwherein data related to the second financial instrument was previouslyreceived from the customer in connection with a second transactionrelated to a second offering of the seller, the second offeringincluding at least one of a second product and a second service beingoffered to customers; at a first time, receiving an indication of afirst transaction involving the customer and a first offering of theseller, the first offering including at least one of a first product anda first service being offered to customers, the first transactionincluding an associated payment to be made on behalf of the customer atthe first time; selecting the first financial instrument to use in anattempt to collect the payment associated with the first transaction,the selecting based on the determined customer-specific sequence; andautomatically attempting to collect the payment associated with thefirst transaction by using the selected first financial instrument; andat a later second time after the first time, and based at least in parton a lack of success of the attempting to collect the payment by usingthe selected first financial instrument, automatically attempting tocollect the payment associated with the first transaction by using thesecond financial instrument, the second financial instrument beingautomatically selected by the one or more configured modules to be usedbased on the determined customer-specific sequence and without anyinteractions by the customer at the second time.
 17. The computer systemof claim 16 wherein the lack of success of the attempting to collect thepayment by using the selected first financial instrument is determinedbased at least in part on a failure event that occurs with respect tothe attempting to collect the payment by using the selected firstfinancial instrument.
 18. The computer system of claim 16 wherein thefailure event includes receiving data indicating that the firstfinancial instrument has at least one of expired, been reported lost,been reported stolen, been canceled, exceeded a spending limit, and beenrestricted as to online transactions.
 19. The computer system of claim18 wherein the first financial instrument is at least one of a creditcard and a debit card.
 20. The computer system of claim 16 wherein thefirst transaction is requested by the customer after the secondtransaction has been completed.
 21. The computer system of claim 16wherein the first transaction is requested by the customer after thesecond transaction has been initiated but before the second transactionhas been completed.
 22. The computer system of claim 16 wherein thepayment associated with the first transaction is part of a plurality ofperiodic payments.
 23. The computer system of claim 22 wherein the firstoffering includes the first service, the first service being one of amembership service, a preferred customer service, and a shippingdiscount service.
 24. The computer system of claim 23 wherein thepayment associated with the first transaction to be made at the firsttime is an auto-renewal payment associated with continuing to providethe first service to the customer.
 25. The computer system of claim 22wherein the first offering includes the first product, and the pluralityof periodic payments corresponds to an installment payment plan.
 26. Thecomputer system of claim 22 wherein the second offering includes thesecond product.
 27. The computer system of claim 22 wherein the secondoffering includes the second service, the second service being asubscription service.
 28. The computer system of claim 22 wherein thesecond offering includes the second service, the second service beingbased on an auction offering.
 29. The computer system of claim 22wherein the first offering includes the first service, the first servicebeing a subscription service.
 30. The computer system of claim 16wherein the determining of the customer-specific sequence includesobtaining an indication from the customer of the customer-specificsequence.
 31. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the determining ofthe customer-specific sequence is performed automatically by the one ormore configured modules of the server computer system.
 32. The computersystem of claim 16 wherein the one or more modules are operated by theseller and include software instructions for execution by the at leastone processors.